


A Tug In The Right Direction

by DaydreamGlitterbug



Category: Blaseball (Video Game)
Genre: 12x100, AND this is the second time either Daydream or I wrote the first fic for a pairing, M/M, No swearing this time!, One character death mentioned in passing, somehow slowburn romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:21:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29503341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaydreamGlitterbug/pseuds/DaydreamGlitterbug
Summary: A little series of 12 events in the timeline of Iggy Delacruz and Howell Franklin getting together
Relationships: Igneus Delacruz/Howell Franklin
Kudos: 2





	A Tug In The Right Direction

**Author's Note:**

> Neptune here! A lot of writers in the Crabitat are doing 12x100s and I decided to do one with a relatively new (since like Valentine's Day) pairing of Iggy Delacruz and Howell Franklin, known as Wolf Snack! Here's the article on the format: https://pigeonize.medium.com/boy-in-lake-b1516b722cf1 and shout out to crabmoney3 and jonesyyy for being the first two 12x100s we read!

1)

The universes shift. A door opens and they swap. Iggy and Igneus swapped worlds. Leaving behind their own Sunbeams and in return the relationships there. Igneus went to a universe where Malik wasn’t married to them and Iggy, well…

Iggy arrived in a marriage that they didn’t quite understand. The Malik here seemed to miss Igneus…but why? Was it because Iggy is too chaotic? Was it because Igneus was less chaotic and perfect for xem? Yet…everything felt odd.

2)

Season 5 arrived. While Iggy and Malik felt their way through a failing relationship, another relation continued to blossom, established seasons before the universes opened. Howell Franklin steps up to bat. He hits a single, which was surprising considering well…they weren’t a good batter. On base, Howell decided to do something risky, steal second. However, it seems someone else was watching: Jose Haley.

“It’s always you, eh?” Howell sighed as Jose tagged his partner out.

The Wings went up to bat next inning; Jose hit a home run…which impressed Howell. As it always did.

3)

The league shuffles, relationships fall apart. Jose and Howell see each other occasionally, but not during the season. Malik and Iggy move into separate apartments, it’s only a separation but the Beams know. They always can tell when relationships go south and if they’ll recover their path. This one will never recover. Malik is too connected to the Igneus xe lost to even TRY to fall in love with Iggy, less keep a marriage up. So, they separate…temporarily they say.

But don’t all the temporary separations end up permanent a majority of the time?

4)

Season 6 started. The Spies and Sunbeams would be playing more often. Iggy liked playing the Spies, they didn’t know why. Everyone else on the team knew: they had a crush on Howell. Zack gave them an ultimatum: give Howell their number by the end of their first series. Leave it in the dugout of the Spies, they should be able to figure out who it goes to. It takes all of Iggy’s courage to write it down, put it in an envelope, and write Howell’s name on it. They leave it in the dugout at the end of the third game.

Howell gets it and texts Iggy soon after.

5)

A blessing. A swap. Howell goes to the Shoe Thieves after being transformed into a wolf…permanently. The Spies get Joe Vorhees. It’s easy for Howell to adjust to the Shoe Thieves, they’re more open than the Spies. Though, he would see Iggy less during games, but they could keep in touch by text. They had become good friends at this point. Howell told Iggy about his kids and Iggy told him about their old home. Howell enjoyed these texts and whenever they hung out, which was often thanks to two-stepping.

Howell won’t admit it but, he had fallen for Iggy.

6)

The separation of Iggy and Malik was complete. Malik decided to swap with Joe Vorhees and take their place on the Spies. Now it would be harder to play against the Spies for Iggy. What used to be a fun team to play against was now a little bit bitter to play. Seeing Malik brought up the memories of when they were together. They tried, but they couldn’t make it work. They texted Howell to ask for advice and he gave them some advice:

Remember the good times and forget the bad, then you can learn to move forward.

7)

Season 8 arrived. Jose Haley was on the Firefighters now. Howell and Jose had kept steady despite the constant shifting of leagues and teams. However, death comes for us all eventually. The umpire came up to Jose in San Fransisco. Richardson Games’ phone chimed in Charleston. Howell picked it up and saw the news that Jose was incinerated. He remained calm but later he visited Iggy and the other Beams and cried. He cried for hours as Iggy told him it would be alright. They could have confessed their crush but…

It was too soon for both of them.

8)

Season 9, Day X had passed. The Shoe Thieves tried to defeat the giant peanut but failed. Howell was a bit shaken by the encounter. He needed someone to comfort him and he knew that Iggy would be open to it. He stopped by Hellmouth and talked to Iggy about the horrors that both parties saw but only Howell experienced. It was easy to digest the situation and theorize whether or not the Peanut would come back next season. They both knew that it would but what would happen now?

Safe to say, neither could confess then.

9)

Two seasons later and the Peanut was defeated and the Sunbeams won Season 11. A siesta was occurring. Howell and Iggy spent some time in their respective cities hanging out. Though it felt weird: they were super close friends by this point and yet neither had confessed despite them both having a crush on each other for at least 5 seasons. Something had to be done, so Riley, one of Howell’s kids, decided to take it into their own hands. They knew that their dad had a crush on Iggy so they did the most logical thing a college student could do:

Get an internship for a month in Hellmouth and see what happens.

10)

A month had passed. Riley was enjoying their internship and was even adapting to the town! Literally, they grew wolf ears and a tail! Something inside of them told them everything they needed to know: the Hellmouth wants Howell to confess. Not only did the adaptation occur but they also hung out with Iggy a bit. They told Riley how much they adored hanging out with Howell and how much they wanted to confess but they were too worried that it would end up like their last relationship. Riley told them that it wouldn’t.

Their relationship would work out wonderfully.

11)

The Coffee Cup had just wrapped up. Howell didn’t play and he watched Iggy play on Athletico Latte. Neither won but they had teammates that did. So, they hung out together watching the finals and rooting for their usual teammates. Watching Sutton pitch was a treat for both of them, watching it run up to the batter and throw the ball in their face never gets old. At the end, Inner Xpresso won and Howell was very excited. He decided to go and hang out with them but Iggy grabbed his hand.

“I have something to say before you go.”

12)

The Siesta was almost over and Howell and Iggy had hung out together almost every day. Ever since Iggy confessed to him, Howell had been over the moon. Iggy felt the same. It was almost destiny. Now that season 12 was coming, they knew that a long-distance relationship would still work. After all, the Shoe Thieves and Sunbeams became friends over the siesta. There’ll always be a Charleston wing in Sigmund. They could always have dates even when they were far away. Everyone knew that this unlikely romance would work out in the end.

The tug can even pull two stubborn souls together.


End file.
